Kerry Warns Putin Over Ukraine: “This Is Not Rocky IV”

The U.S. plans $1 billion in loan guarantees for Ukraine, Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday, after he had earlier warned that Russia must be “very careful” in its decisions about its neighboring nation and that it must respect Ukrainian sovereignty. “I think Russia needs to be very careful in the judgments that it makes going forward here,” he said in an exclusive interview with NBC News' Andrea Mitchell. “We are not looking for confrontation. But we are making it clear that every country should respect the territorial integrity here, the sovereignty of Ukraine." Kerry said that Putin should “listen carefully to Ukrainians who have voiced their desire for change,” repeating that the U.S. does not view its relationship with Russia as a “sort of continuation of the Cold War.” “This is not Rocky IV,” he said. “Believe me. We don’t see it that way.” Kerry's comments came after Putin ordered a military drill near the Russia-Ukraine border, following Ukraine's ouster of a president with close ties to Moscow.

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